Coating-machine.



No. 8279.587. Y PATENT@ FEB. 18, 1908.

R'.- P.. RICHARDSON.

UGATING MAGHINE.

PPLGATIO FILED JUNE 29, 1907.v

11 SHEET5-SHBT 2.

M 1... H 0l S s 1i L E B `m E s D n E mi N E mi. An. D. M. w STLB DHN RCW AnwnD HMB nu n InNuP Bdm PATENTED EEB. is, 190e. a.. R. RIGHARDSGN. comme.

APPLICATION MACHINE.

FILED JUNE 29.1907.

SHEETS- SHEET 4.

w C vl. he NM 'wy ijn. MGHRDSN. MTM Fn FEB 18, 93s Gomma @nfima BLICATION FILED JUNE 29,'-1907.

11 SHEETS-SHEET e.

www?

Crqd C N, um SQ MS S FTIA.

lames.'

...if f

R. R.. RICHARDSON. UOATING MACHINE. APPLICATION PILED'JUNE '29. 1907.

ga. PAENTEB FEB. 18, 1908.

R, R. RICHARDSON.. GOATING'MACHINE. APPLICATION. FILED JUNE 29, 1907.

11 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

R. R. RICHJ.

No.A 879,537.

APPLIGATION FILED JUNE 29, 1907.

ETS-SEER? 9.

PATENTE P5318 v R. R. RICHARDSON. vCOATING MACHINE. -APPLIGATION FILED JUNE 29, 1907.

11 SHEETS-SHEET l0..

msm, f

` R. R. RICHARDSON.

COAT

APPLICATION FILED JUNB29-1907.

PATENTED FEB. 18, 1908.

NG MAGHINB.

11 sHBETs--SHEBT' 11.

I! MLWW n@ SY m drin# W..

'li uid coa-ting bath and the carrier mechan- 1 e RALPH n. RICHARDSON,

OF OTTAWA, ILLINOIS.

coerrnneonmn.

Specification of Iietters Patent.

Patented E'eb. 18, 1908.

Application filed June 29. 1907A Serial No. 381.559.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, 'RALPH R. RICHARD- soN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Ottawa, in the county of Lasalle and State of lllinoisLhave invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coating-A Machines; and l do hereby declare that the following is a lull, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates ltofimprovements in machines forappiying to confections and the like a coating of a different substance as, for instance, applyinga chocolate coating to .confection centers, and the invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims. i Among the objects of the invention is to produce a machine by which articles in large quantities may be automatically treated to' coat the same, to provide a novel mechanism for dipping the articles in a coating bath, to provide a novel mechanism. for feeding the articles to the dipping mechanism and to otherwise improve the construction and operation of machines for this purpose tob the end Aofsimplifying and economizing the operation thereof.

ln the drawings I-Figure 1 isa side, elevation of a machine embodying my invention. Fig.- '1? is i a fragmentary section taken through the rear roller of the lower belt of the carrier and its bearings. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the central part of the machine. Fig. 3 is a vertical 'section, taken on line of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail longitudinal section of the central part of the machine showing the reservoir for the ism for carrying the articles to be coated therethrough. Fig'. 5 is a vertical section, taken on line 5---5 of Fig. 4. Figs. 6, 7 and S are detail sections, taken on lines 6-6, 7-7 and 3-S, respectively', of Fig. 4. Fig. 9 is a detail section, taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a fragmentary central section of the carrying mechanism at the discharge en d i of the'inachine, illustrating the. manner of discharging the coated articles from said'` mechanism upon the take-oil mechanism.

Fig. 10L is a section taken on line 10am-10q of Fig. 1Q. Fig. .11 is a horizontal section taken on line 11-11 of Fig. 1i). 12 isa l taken on line 40-10 of Fig. 38.

'the two members of the dipping carrier.i

Fig. 18 is a detail of the basket member of said carrier. Fig. 19 is a'pl'an detail of the supporting member of said carrier. Fig. 20

is a section taken on line 20-20 of Fig. 18.

Fig. 21 is aisection taken online 21' 2l of Fig. 19. Fig. 22 is a perspective view ofthe shaker frame by which the coated articles are shaken to rid the same of excess liquid coating. Fig. 23 is an end view of said frame showing the supporting and basket carriers therein. Fig. 24 is a4 detail illustrating the blower employed for removing excess coating from the coated articles. Fig. 25 lis a plan view of the feeding mechanism showing the adjacent end ofthe lower carrier belt which receives the articles from the feeding mechanism. Fig. 26 is a section taken on line 26-26 of Fig. 25. Fig. 27 is -a vertical sec- I tion taken on line 27-'27 of Fig. 3. Fig. 28

is a vertical section taken on line 28-28 of Fig. 3. Figs. 29 and 3() are detail sections taken on line 29-29 of Fig. 3, showing the parts in two different positions. fragmentary detail as seen fromI line 31-3] of Fig. 2. Fig. 32 is a detail of the feeding mechanism hereinafter to be described. Fig. 33 is a section'of the clutch device for intermittently connecting the feed belt of the feeding mechanism with the power. 34 is a perspective view of the lift bar for raising the articles from the feed belt to the level of the-lower carrier belt. Fig. 35 is an enlarged section taken online 35-35 of Fig. 1. Fig. 36 is a -fragmentary vertical section of the take-off belt. Fig. 37 is a fragmentary plan view thereof. Fig. 38'is a detail illustrating a modified construction ofthe feed mechanism. plane parallel to the plane'of the elevation of Fig. 3S. Fig. 40 is a transverse section i Fig. -11 is a top plan view of a portion of the guide bars of the feeding mechanism illustratedl in Figs. :ZS to i0. Fig. -fi'Z illustrates another modification' of the feeding mechanism. Fig. '13 is a vertical section taken in a plane parallel Fig. 39 is a section taken in a Fig. 31 is a A to the plane of the elevation of Fig. $2. Fig.

4 is a transverse section taken on line ll-lll of Fig 42. Fig. 15 is a detail of one of the guides and guide bars employed in the feeding mechanism shown in Figs. 42 to 44.

vThe machine herein shown as embodying an approved forni of my invention embraces, in general terms, ay reservoir for the liquid coating bath, a suitable carrier upon which the articles to be coated are fed and by which they are carried through t-he coating bath, a feeding mechanism atthe receivingI end of the machine for arranging the articles tol be coa-ted in an orderly manner on the carrier, and a take-off mechanism located at the discharge end of the' machine lupon which the articles are discharged from thel carrier after they have passed through the bath and lreceived -a coating. T he carrier comprises relatively wide upper and lower endless belts, the adjacent laps of which travel in parallel relation to eachother through the coatingbath, the said belts being so constructed as to provide between them spaces which receive and hold the articles to be coated while they are passing through the bath. The upper belt of the carrier .is sepa-t rated from the lower belt thereof at the delivery end of the machine and the articles are fed upon said lower belt by suitable' feeding mechanism so constructed and arranged that the articles to be coated are fed upon the lower belt or member of the carrier in rows transverse to the direction of movement of the carrier, with the art-icles in each row separated a suitable distance from each other, whereby they are brought longitudinally and transversely into line with the spaces between the carrier `belts made to -receive them when the adjacentl laps ofthe belts are brought into parallelism on the feed side .of the coating receptacle. Thus the articles are carried through the bath and delivered to a suitableI take-oli' device at the discharge end of the machine in the same position as they were received by the carrier, and the arrangement of the parts is such that the coated articles may be delivered to the take-oli` mechanism in like parallel lines in which they were delivered by the feeding mechanism. The space above and partially surrounding the carriers is inclosed bya suitable housing and means are provided forv which -is shown best in Figs. l and 10.

Referring now to the detail construction of the machine herein illustrated, the same is made as follows.

.The frame of the machine embraces two horizontal rails 50, 5() extending from end to end of the machine and' supported attheir outer ends by .standardsL 51 and central vertical standards or posts 52, 52 arranged, as shown, at the corners of a rectangle by which said rails are supported. Saidposts rextend above the horizontal rails and are connected at their upper ends by cross-beams 53. The space between the standards above said rails is inclosed by ahousing comprising side walls 54, partial end walls 55 and a topA wall 56 (Figs. 'l 2 and 12). The side walls are provided with sliding, glass mounted, doors 57, 57 whereby vaccess may be had to the interior of the housing.

(3() designates the upwardly opening reser-v -voir for the coating bath which is located between the-front posts 52 of the .frame and short, intermediate posts 61 extending down-- wardly from the side rails. The said reservoir comprises a bottom wall 62 (F ig. 4') which is centrally' depressed and side walls The said bottom wall is provided with a jacket G4 in the space between which and said bottom wall are arranged coils of steam pipes 65 connected with steam feed and return pipes G6 and 67, respectively, (Fig. 1).. Said space is also provided with a. perforated water supply pipe' 68 by which water is admitted to the spa-ce to temper the coating bath. The reservoir is emptied through a. discharge pipel 69.

l 'T he carrier by which the articles are fed through the bath comprises upperand lower endless beltsand 7l, the mount-ing of The upper belt'is trained about and driven by sprocket wheels 72, 72a located at thefeeding and discharge ends, respectively, of the machine and 'fixed on rotative shafts 73, 74: mounted in bearings carried by the front and rear posts 52. The lower belt is likewise, `trained about sprocket wheels 75, 76 fixed to rotating shaft-s' 7 7 ,-7 S, respectively, mounted in beai'ings attached tosaid front and rear pbsts). The lower lap of the upper belt and the upper lap of the lower belt travel para lel and adjacent to each other from-.the deliveryl to the discharge end of the machine so as to hold the articles to be coated in baskets or pockets provided onthe upper belt, as will hereinafter be described. The said adjacent laps of the belt-s are, from a point adjacent to the feed end of t-he machine, deflected downwardly into the coating 'bath reservoir and thence upwardly to' the general level of the take-off mechanism at the discharge end of the machine. 'F or this purpose "said adjacent laps of the belts are trained about idlers 8O mounted on short shafts Sl extending inwardly from the side walls of the -reservoir,as shown in Figs. l and 5, and the Aupper lap of the` lower belt is likewise trained about idlers 82, S3 rotativel \v mounted on shafts 84, S5, respectively, at the receiving and discharge en'ds of the bath receptacle. Thus it will be seen that between the idlers 82 andSS the adjacent laps of the upper and lower belts' are held together. rl`he said adjacent laps of the belts are held together, between the rea-ridler S3 and the discharge 1 end of the nrachine, b v being passed through guide ways or slots in parallel guide bars S7 (Figs. 2, Ai, 10, 22 and 23). in the presentinstance constitute the side members of a vibrating or shaking frame SS Q used to shake the excess coating material from the articles being coated after theyv longitudinally arranged bars 91, 92, respec. tively. The said longitudinal bars-91 92 are Aspaced close together throughout 4the principal portion of their length to maintain the intermediate portions of the adjacent laps of the belts ytogether (Fig. 23). l

The forward driving 'pulleys v7 2 ofthe upi ,per belt are located in rear Aof the forward driving pulleys 75 of the lower belt, and the upper lap of the lower belt, between the driving pulleys 75 andthe idlers 82, is disposed horizontally, as most clearly shown in Fig. Ll.

I It is upon this horizontal part of the upper lap of the lower belt that the articles to be coated are delivered'by the feeding mechanism hereinafter to be described. g The lower lap. of the` lower belt is trained about idlers 93, 94, 95 and 96 soarranged that the lower rreturning lap of the belt is directed vthrough the lower part of said receptacle back to the. t?

feed end of the machine.

' The said upper and lower belts of the twopart carrier embrace novelfeatures of con- .struction and are made as follows: The upper belt comprises a plurali-tv of transverse rods 100,100, best shown in Figs` ,17, 18 and 20, lwhich are connected at their ends with their upper ends. They are herein shown as .6.5

the links of'sprocket chains 101 (Figs. 1S,- 20

and 23) that run over the driving and idler wheels therefor. The rods embodied in said upper belt are arranged in pairs spaced at a" suitable distance apart. Each pair of rods of baskets, indicated as a support a plural-ity whole by 102, disposed longitudinally .of the said rods, and therefore transversely with respect to the direction oftravel of said chain.` Said baskets are so constructed that those occupying at any given time the lower lap of the belt open downwardly and are closed at made ofwi're, each comprising a 10.3 sur- "spacin rounding the mouth of the basket, and arched wires 104,105 sprung away from the plane of the belt. T he arched wires 10ft entend transversely between the rods 100 ofl each pair and are coiled about said rods and also about the ring to fasten said ring in place. As herein shown, the arched wires 105 for each series of baskets are -made of a continuous wire suitai'r-ljv attached at their ends to the end rings 103 and laced over the arched wires 104 and beneath the rings 103 in the manner i most clearly shown in Fig. 17. Said guide bars The lower belt comprises a plurality of .uniformly and closelvspaced rods 106 that are attached at their ends to the links of sprocket chains 107, 107 designed to run over the driving and idler 'wheels for said belt ln machines where the belts are nia-de of considerable width, one or more intermediate sprocket chains may be i y. t incorporated in the lower belt (Figs. 10a 1i and 23) to support the central partof the belt, and suitable supporting sprocket wheels will be provided ,at Vthe proper place over which said intermediate chain or chains run.4

In order to enable the upper and lower `belts to be brought close together notwithstanding the presence of the sprocket chains atthe marginal and intermedia-te parts thereof, the rods 100 of the upper or basket bearingbelts are bent outwardly from the plane of the belt in the parts thereof in line with said sprocket chains, as indicated at 108,109 (Fig. '17).

It will be noted from an inspection of Fig. 4 lthat as the adjacent laps of the upper and lower belts move rearwardly away from the pulleys 72 and 75 the lower lap of the upper belt gradually approaches land is brought 'liatwise against or parallel to the upper lap of the lowerv belt at the rear part of the horizontal or receiving portion thereof beltween the sprocket wheels 7 5 andvS2I with the baskets or pockets opening downwardly on the lower belt and that 'said adjacent laps of the belts travel together in this position until after they leave the guide-grooves in the side bars of the shaking frameS/S before referred to. At the point of emergence from said guide grooves theupper belt di verges or raises from the lower belt 10) and is returned over-the sprocket wheels 7 2, while the lower belt is returned over the sprocket wheels 76. The horizontal yportieri of the upper lap of the lower belt is supported at its margins, between the sprocketwheels 75 and '82, by short hars 115 (Figs. 25- and 26) supported from the side frame rails 50 by brackets 116. A The .articles to be coated are fed in transverse rows on the horizontal or receiving portion of the lower beltk and the articles in each row are spaced apart a dis tance f to 'A correspond 4with the transverse of the baskets on the upper belt.,

As eac row is advanced andthe lower lap 130 of the upper belt isgradually moved towards the lowerbelt until the pockets or baskets close down over the articles on the lower belt and thereby hold said articles confined be tween the belts While the articles are carried through the coating-bath.

Referring now. to t -said upper and lower belts. of the dipping carrier the-same are made as follows: As herein shown saidj belts -are driven from both sides of the machine in order to distribute the driving power uniformly to the belts. designates the main'driving shaft which is 4mounted in bearings in the front posts 52 of l the machine. Said shaft is provided at one end with a driving pulley -121 adapted, through the medium of 'a drifting belt,to receive power from a suitable source, as lthe electric motor showng Said shaft is' provided adjacent to the driving pulley with a .pinion 122 that meshes with a geai` wheel 123 fixed to one .end of a countershaft 124 that extends across the Iiiachine and is mounted in suitable bearings fixed with said posts 52,

and a post 52al at the right hand side ofthe nia-chine. Saidpinion 1 28and a companion pinion 123a on 'said shaft mesh witlivgears 125, 126, respectively, the former of ,which constitutes an idler and the latter of which mounted in bearings lin the post 52 and the adjacent post-:52la (Fig. 3). The gear wheels 125, 1261nesh withsgear wheels v', 130. fixed to the shaft 77' that carries the' lowerv belt sprocket wheels 75. Thegear wheels 413() mesh with 'gear wheels 131 fixed to` the shaft 7 3 that carries the sprocket wheels ofthe -upper belt of the carrier. Rotation ofv the main driving shaft therefore imparts, through the countershaft 124, and the gears referred to, opposite rotation to the driving shafts 73 'and 77 to drive said belts'in the desired direction.

Referring now tothe feedingmechanism and the-means for operating the same, said parts are shown'most clearlyT in Figs. 1, 3, 25,

27 to.32, both inclusive, 33, 34 and 35 and are made as follows: 14() designates a feed belt that is trained about rollers -141., 142,

143, the two 'former being locatedV adjacent.

to'the feed end of the machine, as most clearly shown iii lF ig. 2S, and the latter located 4at the forwardmost end of the machine, as shown in dotted lines in Fig.; 1.

The horizontal upper lap of the belt between the rollers 142,143 is supported on'a hori-' zontal plate or table 1-15 which extends between and is attached to the forward part of thehorizolntal rails 50 of the machine frame 35i' 'The feed roller 141 constitutes the feed belt driving roller and is intermittently rotated to advance the feed 'l'he shaft 146 of said feed (Figs. 25, 2S and belt step b v step. roller 141 is rotatively mounted 1n bearing hangers 147 depending from the side rails 50 he means for driving of th'e machine frame *(Fig; '3); Said shaft 11416 is intermittentl'yrotated from .the lower carrier'belt driving shaft 77A throughfdrive ing mechanism, including a clutch device,` which is made as fol lows:v 1-50 desi nates a clutch member rotatively mounte on ther feed belt drivingshaft 146 and provided onits" hub with a sprocket wheel151 ,through the movement is communicated from a sprocket 27 and 33). 154 designates a movable clutch member mounted to slide endwise on said shaft 146 towards and from the clutch mem-v ber but isnonrotatively Xed'thereto by a key, as best shown in Fig. 83. A 'A spring` 155 vsurrounding said shaft is interposed between the clutch member and a fixed collar 156 on the outer end of said shaft. Said spring nor inally'fholds the movable clutch memberfen-l gaged with the stationary' clutch member and 'when' said clutch members -are so engaged the feed belt is driven from the rotative shaft 77. Said clutch 'members are disengaged to v intermittently arrest the movement of the driving' belt through the agency of a cam 160 (Figs. 3, 25 and 27) mounted on'gthe shaft 127, and a bell-crank lever 161 pivoted on a bracket 162 supported from the adjacent post 52a. Saidbell-'cranklever is adapted for engagement atone end by said cani and .is provided at its other` end with a fork spaced onthe belt-so as to be delivered to the .lower belt of the carrier inline with the baskets or the? upper belt of said carrier by parallei spacing bars (Figs. 3 and 25) over the belt and 'supported on transverse bars 171 and 172 extending across the feed belt between the side rails 50. .The said spacing 'medium of which and a chain 152 rotative" bars abut at their rear ends'against a vertical 115 plate 173 extending transversely, across the machine frame and attached to inwardly extending iianges 17 Stof brackets,173c mountedon the inner faces vofthe side rails 50 of the frame, as most clearly shown in Figs.. 25, 2S 120 and 32.

In the present instance, the yupper lap of. the feed -belt is located below tbe level of the horizontal receiving portion of the-upper lap of the lower carrier belt71 and means are 125 provided for periodicallv lifting thev articles t be coated from the inwerto the higher level and lfor'p'ushing said articles when so raised upon the receiving portion of said upper lap of the'lower belt. The upper mar. 130

gin of the plate 173 is at thelevelof the receiving portion of Said -lower carrier belt and said plate constitutes a stop against-which the articles are directed by the feeding mechanism and by which their movement is retarded until raised into the influence of the device for pushing the-ui upon the low er carrier belt. The means for raising said articles to the level of the. receiving portion of the lower b elt of the carrier and for directing the raised articles to said belt are so timed, rela tively to the speed of the. carrier belts, that the carrier belts are advanced a distance between two adiacent rows of baskets of the coated are delivered upon the upperedge or face of a vertically iovable lift bar 175 located infront of said stop plate 173, said uppei' face'of the bar being disposed in the eneral plane of the upper lap of the feed belt. The said articles are raised by said lift bar to the level of the upper edge of the plate 173 and a horizontal bridge plate 180 extending rearwardly from the upper edge of the plate 173'to a position over the liori zontal receiving part of the lower carrier belt.

Th'e said lift bar 175 has guiding engagement at its ends between the forward face of said transverse plate 178 and inwardly extending lugs 181 on said casting 173, as shown in -Figs. 28 and 32, and is notched on its upper. face toI receive the rea-r .ends of the spacing bars 170 when in its upper or raised position'.

The means for actuating said liftbar is made as follows: 185, 185 designate two cam disks iixed to the shaft 124 at the forward end of the machine, one at each side thereof, (Figs. 3, 28, 29 and 30). The said cams 185 are provided on their inner faces with-cam grooves 186 that are engaged vby the lugs of forked cani blocks 187 which have guiding engagement with Vsaid shaft 124. Said blocks are connected with the opposite ends of the lift bar b'y rods 188 that are attached` at their upper ends to the endsl ofthel lift .bar and at their lower ends to forwardly extending rigid arms 189 of said cam bloc-ks 187. The cam rooves are. of such contour as to raise and ower the liftA bar' quickly but to hold the. saine for a suitable dwell in both its upper and lower positions, as will hereinafter more fullyappear. The articles thus raised by the 'lift bar 175 are shifted across the bridge plate 1 80 to the horizontal receiving portion of the lower carrier belt by means of a pusher, indicated as a whole by 195, (Fi s. 3, 25, 27 and 28) whichis arranged parel el across the upper face of the lift bar and the bridge plate. The pusher is rovided With'a plurality of -recesses or poc ets located .in

the articles on the horizontal part of the carrier to be engaged by the baskets of said said pusher extends at its ends through two horizont-a1 guide loops 196 and 'is provided with forwardly directed arms 197 which are hinged 'to the upper ends of cani 'actuated bars 198.

' depending from th'e longitudinal rails of the machine and have pin and slotconnection at their lower ends with horizontally recip'oeating cam bars 200 that are forked at their inner ends for guiding engagement with the shaft 124. Said cani bars are provided with flugs 2 01 that engage the periphery of a suitab e shaped cam 202 fixed to the shaft v124 at the sides ofthe cam disk 1185. Springs cam bars 200 and at their rear ends to brackets hold the pusher in its retracted position and the cams operate t'o shift the pusher rearwardly to de osit a row of articles to be coated from tlie lift bar to the lower carrier belt. Said cams 185 and 202 are so related to each other that the pusher is retracted to a position in front ofthe lift bar at the time the latter'is depressed and is advanced thereover-at the time thelift bar is iii its uppermost position. In order to bridge the space betweentlie said lift bar and therearniostl portion of the feed belt 140 and thus prevent small, relatively unstable articles such as cream centers from ,top )ling "over as they pass from the 'belt to 4t e lift bar, L have e'rein shown said spa-ce as 'occupied by'a plurality of rotating rods 210 (.lligs;;25and 28) which extend transverselyfroiitjone lhorizontal frame rail to .the other and are mounted in suitable bearings 21'1 attached to said rails. The ,said rods are driven or rotated by means of driving belts 212,212 trained aboutl Ipulleys 213, carried vby the outer eiidsfof.- said rods,` and about .other pulleys 214 that are fixed `to .ashaftf 215 located in front of the main shaft 1,20, as bestfsliown in Fig. y3. Said shaft 215 is rotated from the shaft 120 by means of a belt 216 itrained about pullevs oir-said shafts, as shown in Fig. 27. In this construction and ywith' the lift bar and reciprocates rearwardly'- 203. attached `at their forward ends to salidlarrangement, the rods are .rotated rapidly and serve to deliver the Yarticles from the belt line with the s aces between the space bars 170 of the fee belt so as to properly placevv carrier in the manner beforey described. The

The said swinging bars 198 are pivoted between their ends to brackets 199, v

204 fixed to the forward posts 52 normally n closure of such structure.` herein.

to the upper face Vof theFl'ift bar smoothly and without tendency to cause said parts to fall over.

The feeding mechanism for feeding the articles from an intermittently advanced feed belt to a continuously movable carrier may beconsiderably varied from the dis- For instance, instead of employing a stationary stop for the articles to arrest the same prior to their delivery to the carrier,- l m-ay employ a movable stop such asillustrated in my copending application7 Serial No. 330,413, filed Junel 24th, .1907.

Instead-of employing the spacing bars 170 extending throughout. the length of the feed belt, I may provide shorter s acing bars 220,

shown in Flgs. 38 to 41, inc usive, provided at` theirrforward ends with means for direct- .ing thefarticles into the spaces between 'said` bars. As shown in the figurelast mentioned,

ist

"points 221 are l'connected by short arms -with a transversely' arranged, reci rocatmg,

such-directing means consists of horizont ally -vibrating points 221 which'are' hinged to the rear endsof said bars. rl .`he said vibrating oog actuating rod 223. Said'rod exten s beyond the side of. the frame and is reciprocated through the agency of a swinging lever 224 the spacing bars. Mounted in the forward ends f said guide bars are vertical rollers 231, rovided at their upper ends with worm whee s 232. Said worm wheels 232 mesh with worms 233 xed to4 a shaft 234 extend'- ing transversely across the belt and mounted at its ends in short standards 235 rising from the horizontal frame rails 50. The said 'shaft 234 is provided at its outer end with a belt pulley 236 through the medium of which it may be rotated from any suitable adjacent rotating part of the machine. l

Referring now to the mecha-msm forjshak-- ing or vibrating the frame 3S through'jwhich the carrier belts pass at the discharge end of the machine, whereby 'excess coating materia-l is shakenj' or dislodged from the articles emerging-from the coating bath, this construction is nshown most clearly in Figs. 1, 2',

12,- 13, 14 and 15 vand is made as follows:

24() designates a rotative shaft extending.'

transversely of the machine and mounted in bearingspcarried by horizontal beams4 241 of and 'a face cam 225 formed on a collar that is ,fixed to the lower driving roller shaft 146..

tlieframe.- Afii'xed to said Straftat each end thereof 1s a ratchet wheel 242. Said ratchet wheels are engaged bythe lower ends "f'refl ciprocating rods 243 which are attached at their uplperends to lugs'244 .on the forward end of t e shaking frame.4 The sai'd rods 243 extend through suitable guides 245 above said ratchet wheel and are provided with fixed collars 246 that are arrested by buffers .247 carried by said guide brackets 245. The

said shaking frame is hinged at its rear end to short standards 250 (Figs.2 and v10), rising from the side rails of the frame, by means ofa transversev pivot rod 251 extending through suitable apertures 252 in the side rails of the frame. It-will thus be seen that rotation of said -shaft 240 acts through the ratchet wheels 242 and rods 243 to trans-A mit a shaking or Avibrating motion to the fqrward end of said frame, with the result of shaking the carrier as it passes therethrough and the coated' articles confined by the carrier, thus relieving said artic-les of any excess ofcoating that tends to adhere thereto. It will be observed that the' amplitude of swing of the frame is short, thus presenting no impedance to the passage'of the carrier therethrough.- The shaft 240 is herein shown as driven by means of a chain 254 trained about a pulley 255 on'the shaft anda pulley 1245 on the countershaft 124atI the feed end of the machine (Figs. 1 and 3). The said lugs 244 of the shaking framehave guiding engagement with upright grooves in standards 255 (Figs. 13 and' 14) attached to and rising from the side rails'50 ofthe frame. The said guide grooves for the lugs 244 will be slightly inclinerto correspond with the arc of swinging nio rement of the frame and the shaker rods 243 may be jointed, as shown at 243?, to avoid tendency of the parts to bind.

Yhen it isdesired to operate the machine without vibrating the frame for the'purpose set forth, the forward end of! the frame is raised fromits normal position by means of a lever 256,(Figs. 13 and 14) which is locked in a positionto hold the forward end of the frame upby means of a loop latch 257. 'Yhen the frame is thus locked in its upper. most position, the shaker rods 243 are lifted out of position for contact with the ratchet is made as follows: 260 designates a rotative y shaft that extends transversely ticross the lower lap of the'upper belt and is mounted at its ends in forwardly directed arms 261 attached to the rear upright posts 52. Fixed tofsaid shaft4 are a plurality of knocker arms 262 which areadapted' to strike a plurality 130 of striking plates 263 overlying the lower lap of the upper belt, as shown iii Figs. 1l) a nd 11 As herein shown, said striking plates are attached to the rear end ol the shaking traine and lie ilat upon the said lower lap oi the upper belt. The knoclter arm shaft is rotated through the inediu'in of a sprocket`chain 26-1 (Fig-1) trained about `sprocketwheels 265 on said shaft and a sprocket wheel v266 ,on the shaft 74 which carries the rear vsupporting sprocketsior the upperbelt ot' the carrier. lt will be observed that .rotation ot said shaft 266 causes saidknocker arms to sharply strike said-.striking plates and that the force of such blows is transmitted .to thek adjacent laps of both carrier belts, thereby effecting dislodgnient of objectionable or excess amount ofthe coating material. l 'have also provided 4means for removing excess coating material troni the articles by the use otv a blast ot air directed upon the articles after they leave the bath. In order that the air shallnot have lthe effect of chilling or .setting .the eoatingniaterial when so directedupon rsaid articles, the air is heated to the approximatetemperature of the air within the in- "closure I` he heated air thus directed in the form ofa blast uponthe coated articles may be taken from lthe inclosure itself, which inclosureis suitably heated to maintain a. desired'and equable temperature around the coated articles from the time they leave the bath until they are ready'to 'be discharged j'ifroni the inclosure. l havefshown an approved means for accomplishing this result which is made as follows: 280 (Figs. 1,2 and 112) designates a pipe connected with the dischargeendoi a blower. 281 mounted on the .housingwhich -iiicloses the central partof the machine.. Said pipe 280 extends downwardly'into the in-teriorofthe housing, and isconnectedwithv two. branch pipes 282 (Fig.

` l2) wit-hin the housing which extends downwardly, one oneach sidefotttliehousing, and

` communicate withtheppposite ends of a distributing head 283iwhich'is located between theuppeiand lower laps ot vthe upper carrier belt- The saiddi'stributing head is provided in its lower wall by a plurality of openings which ai'e'controll'ed by danipeis .284. Said damp'ers are herein shown asinadeot' the sliding'- type butnniay be tiffany other suit- Eablei"oi"ni1b ywi'rhich the discharge ot'air Jfrom. In the lhead -iiiay'fbecontrolled at will. p prsent'-'instance, the blower 281 receives heated air` fronrt-he interior ofthe housing i through the medium of a' pipe 285 communi- A 'c'atng' with the intake side of the blower and ythe interior of'jthe housing (Figs. 2 and 24).

en' The air is heated in said housingby means of ds'te'a'mcoil 2 86 supported on a hanger 287 "from the top'wallof the housing, and said coil receives steam from the main steam supply pipe 66 (Figs. 1 .and 2) that conveyssteam 55520 the coilin .the batlireservoir jacket. It

'36 and 37.

'will be obvious that the housing which incloses the top ol` the bath reservoir and the carrier enables said parts to he maintained at an equable and unil'orm temperature.

without danger ofsudden variations of teniperature by reason of dratts. Such temperature maybe readily regulated by the admission oi more or less steam to the coil .286 within the housing.

270 designates a take-oil' belt, located at the discharge end of the machine, which receives the coated articles as they are discharged froin the separating laps oi the-upper and lower carrier belts. Said take-oft' 'belt is trained about frontand rear rollers 271 272, respectively, (Figs. 1 10 and 11) Ymounted in and extending transversely across the machine traine. The rearniost roller, shown in Fig.v l?, constitutes the driving roller and is driven from a shaft TS, carrying thev driving wheels for the lower carrier belt at the rear or discharge end of the machine, by means 'of a sprocket chain or bel-t 273 (Fig. 1) trained about sprocket wheels on said shaftI 7 S and the shaft 274' carrying the rear take-oit' belt roller 272. The coated articles are removed from the upper lap of the lower carrier belt, just before said belt returns about said sprocket wheels 76, over a stripper plate 27.5 lying tlat on said upper lapand overlapping at its rear edge the take-oil belt.v Said stripper plate is made thin at its forward edge, thereby 4facilitating the transfer of the coated articles from the belt to the plate. It will be observed, by reference to Fig. 10, that the baskets 102 of' the carrier belt are engaged with the coated articles until the latter are moved thereby across the.A stripper plate, whereby said articles are delivered upon the take-oft belt in rows spaced the saine dist-ance apart, as when traveling through the bath. 'T he said4 stripper plate is provided with a plurality ol guide ribs 276 rising therefrom, forming bctween the saine spaces located in line with the lines of baskets ot' the carrier (Fig. 11) y whereby the coated articles are delivered upon the' take-oit` belt in the saine relative positions that they pass thiough the bath. The take-od' belt is shown asequipped with hooks 27 0a by which paper of suitable weight laid flat on the belt, may be attached thereto, whereby the coated articles may be delivered 'directly upon said paper and 'be thereby removed tronithe belt, asbest shown in Figs. The said stripper plate 275 is mounted on a vbar 27 8 supported on the machine franie above the rear upturned end of a plate that constitutes a runway 279 through' Which'the lower lap of the carrier is returned to the bath receptacle.

`bath reservoir, inclines l. toward the reservpir -to direct they liquid' coating material dripface of the upper the two latter engaging both the upper and 4 'ping therein back to the reservoir. Furtlrerinorm-the said lower lap'of the belt drags against thebottoni of said runway so as to scrape the coating material back to the In order to allow the rods of said vcarrier'to he 'Hat on t-he bottom of the runreservoir.

drags against the bottom of the bath taint` at the lo\\'e1'most portion thereof and vserves Ato dislodge am. sediment that gravitates towards and lodges on said lowermojst part of the tank bottom. ln. practice it will be sometimes advisable to carrj.4 the lower lap of said lov-:er carrier member closely adjacent to the tank bottom throughout the principal part ofthe length of said bottom.

Devices are provided for cleaning the carrier belts and the parts thereof winch pass .outwardhv from the bath reservoir in either direction of the liquid coating which tends to adhere thereto. The mea-ns herein shown for effecting this result comprises brushes 290, 291,. 292, the former engagingthe inner lap of the lower. belt, and

lower faces of the llower lap of said belt nearA the front end of the bat-h reservoir. rlhe rotarv brush 29() is rotativelv mounted in the side walls of the'bath receptacle and 1s--ro tated from the 'adjacent idler 93 on the shaft 93a by means of a. sprocket chain 291 that is trained, about a sprocket wheel on the shaft 93 of said brush and a sprocket wheel 2.96 integral with the hub of said idler 293, as most clearly shown in Fig. 8.' Thev rotary brush 291 is likewisev rotated from the lower lap of the lower carrier belt through 'the medium ofa sprocket chain 297 trained about a sprocket wheel on the shaft 29S of the brush 291 and a sprocket wheel 299'1nadeI integral with a second sprocket wheel 300 ,mounted on a shaft 301 and meshing with one of the side srocket chains of the lower belt (Fig. 7 S1milarlv,the rotary brush 292 is driven from the llowerlap of the lower carrier belt4 by means of a' sprocket 4cliai1r-302 trained about the shaft 303 of said brush and a.

sprocket wheel 304 made integral'with a sprocketwheel 305 meshing` with the ad- 'acent driving or sprocket belt of the said lower belt and mounted on a short shaft 306' im 6). i

( righe bath receptacleis so mounted and supported that it may be lowered,relatively port-ing' said parts, permitting 'thus raised and lowered, are shown in Figs.

are adapted to be the agency of sprocket chains 313 trained -the' v reach the 'rear side portion ofthe belt t-hev are' Vconfined upon to' the horizontal'rails 50 of the' machine frame 'so as to affordaccess vto the interiorof the resem-oir, when so lowered, through the space between 'said rails and the top of 'the -lowered receptacle. l In the present instance, the runwa)T 279, through whichthe lower lap belt is returned to thev of the lower carrier bath reservoir, is fixed rigidly to said reservoir and islowered and raised with the re.- capta-cle.

1,' 2 and 16, and are'made as follows: 310, 310 designate a `plurality of vertical 'standards attached at their upper ends tothe reservoir and runway; There are three of said standards on each side of the machine, one set ofthree being shown in Fig. 2. Said standards are provided with yteeth .or cogs which engage a system of pinio'nsv 311 fixed to horizontal -shafts 312.A extending transv'ersely.T across the 'machine and r'otativcly' 4mount-ed in suitable bearings carried by the.

machine frame.. The said pinions and shafts rotated in unison through over s rocket wheels 314 on said shafts, one

of which said chains is shown in Fig. 2. A 'si-ngle'crank 315 is fixed to one of said shafts 312, the rearmost shaft as herein shown and o eratesthrouvh said sprocket chains and s afts to simultaneously rotate all 'of said.- sprocketwheels and thereby 'simultaneously raise both ends of said vertically movable structure. ASaid latter shaft is provided with 'The means herein 'shown for su them to e a ratchetwheel 316 (Fig. 15)l that is engaged by a holding pawl 317 that locks said raislng and lowering gears in place.l

In the operationof the machine the articles Vto be -co'ated are delivered eithe -b v hand or lay-automatic. mechanism to the upper lap of 'the intermittently advancing feed belt 140. Said articles are by said belt deposited upon the upper face of the lift bar 173 which at the proper periodv is raised to the level of the bridge plate 180 and the horizont-al receiving portion' of the lower .carrier belt. 'When .said ,articles'are so.

raised bv the lift-bar they are transferred by lthe pusher v195 across saidbridge plate 18() to the horizontal receiving portion .of the lower carrier belt., The row of articles thus delivered transversely across the lower carrier belt are adva-r'icedv by said beltgandas of said horizontal` the lower belt b v the closing ofthe baskets 102 of the upper belt downA over the same. 'lhe articles thus 'confined areadvanced through the bath reservoir where they receive a laver of coating material, and thence g through the shaking frame SS and under warn'i air-blastand theV knocking device which operate to remove any excess of said coating material from` said articles. Thereavatar?v afte ifthecoated articles are delivered Vto the take beltg'either directly uponthe belt'or u .zo the paper attached to the belt. It is o' ser-ved, therefore, that the handling ofthe artiles'r'om the time they 'are' delivered'to the machine to the time theyare discharged.' 'therefrom is `entirely automatic. lFurthermore, the articles are so handled that they are arried through the vmachine.. and vdischarged therefrom in an orderly manner and are kept,separate one from-the other, thus upon the other.

avoiding the-coating of said articlesv being marred by reasonv of the articles rubbing one A further advantage of .the mode oi handhng'said'articies is that the position thereof` maybe maintained through;

out the entire operation, a feature of `concarrier as well as the construction of the` carrier maybe varied. Moreover, the feeding mechanism may be varied in its construction, while adapting it tol deliver the articles in a more or less uniform .order on the carrier. feed belt and carrierv 1n the construction shown, lare advanced by movements of different characters, one'an intermittent and. the vother a continuous movement. iFor some classes of'work the relative movement of the feed belt and carrier may be varied, as

for instance, the feed belt may not entirely stop its motion but proceed under less speed than as herein described. Afurther 'andimportant advantage of the use' of the machine isthe great capacity of its output, while at the same time maintaining the articles at all times in position .for individual treatmentand handling. I

The construction herein shown as' embodying anapproved form of my invention has been described more or-less'niinutely with respect to its structural details, but it iis to be. understood that many of the details aresusceptible to variations in construction as well as to the manner and relation oftheir" l uses within the scope of my inventio'n.

' upon-.said receivingl p01.

with eachother, Athe lower belt being-prof .vided in f'advance Aof said :paralleli portionsdtlie 'upper with a {iatreceiving. portion belt-jgbeing-.provided"with inea .confining thelarticles on the lowerg.'belt'A .a toniatic" bei-coated `means for feeding the'artiele Thus it will be 'observed that the Ajans vfor 'applying' coating'- material to said articles while 'conin'ed'on said lower belt. 2. In arcoatilnggmachineja carrier. comprising. upper. and-. lower endless .belts and advancing'and 'guiding'means therefor, saidv` belts travelin' `with-.two of their -la s parallel 7o.

with each -ot er', vthe lower belt eing provided in advance of. said parallel portions with a at receiving portion andthe upper belt bein `provided with means fonconnnig.

thev artic es onv the" lower belt, lautomatic vfnieans forI feeding the articles to be coated upon said receiving portion, means for applying coating material to said artic]eslw-hile-` ycon fined-on said lower belt, and automatic;` meansl for removing the 'coated' articlesfrom a the carrier'.

. 3.' ln a coating'machine, alcarrier comprising two endless belts and advancing and guiding-means therefor, said belts traveling withtwo vof their laps parallel .with each' other, *one of said belts being provided with baskets which open on the front face of the belt .and extend rearwardly therefrom and the adjacent lap of the othei belt fittiy iiat .a en aid front face to close the mouths blsaid' 90 as ets. I

4. In a coating machine, a carrier comprising two endless belts and advancing and guiding means therefor, said belts traveling with two of 1the laps thereof vflat Atogether and arallel'with each other and being provided with pockets arranged intransverse rowsacross one of the belts and extending rearwardly 'therefrom' and opening towards the adjacent lap of the other belt, forthe purpose set forth.

5.' Ina coatingfma'chine, a carrier comprising upperl and lower endless belts and advancing and guiding means therefor,'said .belts traveling. with their 'adjacent laps parallel with each other, and being" provided with pockets arranged in transverse rows across the u er belt, which extend rear- '.wardly 'there om and open towardI the associated lap'v of the lower belt, saidv lower 110 belt being arranedtoprovide in front of the line wheresaid 'elts are brought together a `horizontalreceiving portion, and'said belts fbeing so .arranged that the lower lap'of the upper beltconverges toward and travels fiat 115 -fagainst theadjacent lap 'of thelower belt.

'6'.vv lna coating machine, a dipping carrier comprising 'two endless-upper and lower belts traveling. with two of their laps parallel with ei-icliA-oth'er, and's'uppoi'ting a. guiding means .120

therefor, the lowerb'elt comprising a plurality of closely spaced parallel, transverse rods, and

the upper'belt being provided with a plurality *of transverselydisposed baskets .which extend rearwardly .therefrom and -open 'to- Wards the adjacent lap 'of the'lower belt.

'7- 'Ina coatingmachine,'the combination with abath reservoir, ofa carrier comprising 

